GM TV ?

[Spoonman]

Brother is looking at GM pickup for TV.
6.0L 373 rear srw 3/4 ton to tow #8000 TT.
Lives insouth east,not many hills.What can he expect for performance and mpg?

[Spoonman]

Brother is looking at GM pickup for TV.
6.0L 373 rear srw 3/4 ton to tow #8000 TT.
Lives insouth east,not many hills.What can he expect for performance and mpg?

[Mutha]

Spoonman, I think your brother will be very disappointed in the performace with the 3.73 and 6.0 combination. He might be able to stay with the 6.0 if he opted for the 4.10 rear end, but I believe it will be marginal. The single rear wheel is not a problem and will work fine with a 4 ton load, but I would step up to a one ton truck with a diesel and the Allison 6 speed. Even the Gas engine in a One ton with the Allison would be adequate ... JMO and his druthers may vary subtaintually from mine!

Good Luck - Glenn

[Rick A]

The 6.0 with 4.10 would be fine in either a 3/4 or 1 ton if he is not towing a lot of big hills. I think he will be very dissappointed in the performance with 3.73 though. You do not need a 1 ton diesel to tow an 8K lb travel trailer, although it does make life towing much nicer. The biggest factor is to make sure the loaded rig is within all weight limits.

[Spoonman]

Thanks for your replys,I hope this helps him decide.

[dalemac]

I think the 6.0L with 3.73 will be okay for a travel trailer. I towed an 8000 pound (loaded)Sprinter travel trailer around the mid west and south (Chicago to Mobile, Al.) several times with a 1/2 ton GMC SB with a 5.3L and 3.73, 2wd and it worked fine. I put it in tow haul and 3rd gear. Got 8.5-9 mpg and never felt the truck was being overworked.

[Randy the sly old fox]

I have the new 07 2500HD with 6.0L 6sp and 4.10 rear end. I tow a 6000lb TT. Here in the PNW I am always going uphill so the 4.10's were a given. I am only at 1/2 the tow rating for the truck and it handles the TT like it isn't even back there. I rarely need to drop below 4th gear for any hy grade and can easily maintain 55-60 in 4th turning 3500-4000 RPM (which is the sweet spot for that engine).60MPH is around 1900RPM and on the flat I can cruise on the level with no problems. I get an average of 13MPG light and around 10-11 towing. The other thing to look at is the wheels and tires - if you have oversized tires and wheels - you reduce the effective torque to the wheels.

A 3.73 rear end will reduce the RPMs by 20% which will drop you back down the torque curve for the engine. If you are not towing or hauling it would be OK and would improve the MPG for the truck solo - but would probably require using the next gear down to get into the sweet spots. The key to good MPG when towing is to keep the engine running in that sweet spot. The gearing of the 6sp is best suited for the 4.10 rear end